Studies of an Insect Mycosis. V. Color Changes Accompanying Parasitism in Platysamia Cecropia1,2

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Abstract
The morphological and histological changes in cercopia moths (Platysamia cecropia L.) parasitized by Aspergillus flavus Link have been reported in previous papers (Sussman 1951a, b). During these investigations it was noted that trauma or disease usually caused the blackening of the insect's integument and blood, in agreement with many previous observations (v. Fürth and Schneider 1901; Schlottke 1926; Bhagvat and Richter 1938). Such blackening is due to the action of the enzyme tyrosinase which is almost universally present in insects and which is considered to play an important role in their respiration and structural development (Heller 1947; Sussman 1949). It was to determine the reasons for this color change and its relation to the disease process that these investigations were undertaken.

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